Well, will you look at that! It turns out I had one last
story to tell for 2014. You see, last week, I was fortunate enough to get lots
of outdoor walking worked into my day because of Christmas vacation. Walking
outside does something to my brain, it wanders – in a good way – and that’s
usually when I start planning my next post. So, here we are.
As I was enjoying the sunshine, I started thinking about all
the posts that I've already written and what driving analogies I may have
missed. Then it dawned on me, with the new year starting and the images of
gyms, news articles and opinion pieces, Facebook memes and pretty much any ad
on TV or radio that inundates our subconscious with ideas that everyone’s New
Year’s Resolution is (or should be) weight-loss, I decided that I would dive
right into that saturated field and offer my own opinions on the subject.
Please note that everything I state here is strictly my opinion and I have
received no compensation for what I’m about to say!
For those who have decided that 2015 is going to be “The
Year” of successful weight loss, I would offer this suggestion: treat it like
Driver’s Ed. Before you went out to get your Driver’s License, you had to
become familiar with the car and the rules of the road. For many of us,
learning on our own or with the help of a parent was not enough, so we enrolled
in Driver’s Ed and used the support of the teacher and other classmates to help
us learn and eventually pass the test.
Starting this journey shouldn't be any different. There are
some people who are successful at losing weight without any outside assistance,
they are rare, but I don’t doubt they exist. I am not one of them. I need the
support and the tools of my Weight Watchers group to continue my success. Now,
I've changed a lot of habits over the years, so I’m not as dependent as I was
in the beginning, but the right group or program will allow you to spread your
wings. To be successful, you must be allowed to share, vent, support others, be
supported, make mistakes, learn from those mistakes and never stop growing.
Programs (like Weight Watchers or Shibboleth)
and retreats (such as Green Mountain at Fox Run) that focus on education and support seem to be
the most successful platforms. But
ultimately, the program that is successful for you is the one in which you want
to follow.
When you
learn the proper driving techniques from qualified instructors, your driving
record is usually better than someone who is just winging it. That’s not to say
that you won’t ever get a ticket or be in an accident, but at least you have
been given the tools to learn how to recognize the signs of dangerous road
conditions. These groups operate in much the same manner. Just by attending the
meetings doesn't guarantee that you will lose weight, you must take on the
responsibility to use what you learn and not expect it to come without hard
work. I realize that sounds a bit
preachy, and I typically try to keep everything here light-hearted, but I can’t
stress enough that it is ultimately up to you to be successful in your journey.
You can have the support of the entire planet, but you must be the one who puts
the key in the ignition and starts the car. Knowing that you have the support
of a driving instructor along for the ride should make things easier in the
beginning, but the instructor is only there to impart her knowledge, you must
be willing to absorb it and put it into action so that you take control of your
own vehicle. After a while, you may find that you've mastered some of the
techniques so well that you are willing to put yourself in the instructor’s
seat for those newbies that are about to hit the road with their New Year’s
Resolutions!
I hope that 2015 finds you happy and healthy and I encourage you all to enjoy your own Road Trip! You are worth the journey!
